is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Aichi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the ...

, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 72,864 in 29,139 households, and a population density of 1,986 persons per km². The total area of the city was .

Geography

Hekinan is located in south-central Aichi Prefecture, and is surrounded by

Lake Aburagafuchi A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

, the

Yahagi River The is a river that flows from Nagano Prefecture's Kiso Mountains, Mount Ōkawairi, through Gifu Prefecture, and enters Mikawa Bay from Aichi Prefecture in Japan.Kinuura Bay, and

Mikawa Bay Mikawa Bay (Landsat photo) Mikawa Bay (三河湾 ''Mikawa-wan'') is a bay to the south of Aichi Prefecture, Japan, surrounded by Chita Peninsula The Chita Peninsula (知多半島 ''Chita Hantō'') is a peninsula to the south of Aichi Prefect ...

. Most of the city area lies on reclaimed ground, with an average elevation of under seven meters above sea level.

Climate

The city has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and relatively mild winters (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfa''). The average annual temperature in Hekinan is 15.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1609 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 27.6 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.6 °C. Gamagōri, Aichi is the closet point that measures climate information.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Hekinan has been increasing steadily over the past 50 years.

Surrounding municipalities

;

Anjō is a Cities of Japan, city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 188,693 in 76,087 households, and a population density of 2,193 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Geography Anjō is situated in ...

Nishio is a city located in Aichi Prefecture, in the Chūbu region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 169,984 in 65,553 households, with a population density of 1,054 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . It is a regional ...

* Takahama

History

Ancient history

The area is part of ancient

Mikawa Province was an Provinces of Japan, old province in the area that today forms the eastern half of Aichi Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Mikawa''" in . Its abbreviated form name was . Mikawa bordered on Owari Province, O ...

Early modern period

Under then

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

Tokugawa Shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

, much of what is now Hekinan was part of the holdings of

Numazu Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan located in Suruga Province. It was centered on Numazu Castle in what is now the city of Numazu, Shizuoka, Numazu, in modern-day Shizuoka Prefecture. History In ...

, with the remainder being ''

tenryō The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil war ...

'' territory under direct control of the shogunate.

Late modern period

Widespread rioting occurred in the area against the new

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji ...

and its policy of ''

shinbutsu bunri The Japanese term indicates the separation of Shinto from Buddhism, introduced after the Meiji Restoration which separated Shinto ''kami'' from buddhas, and also Buddhist temples from Shinto shrines, which were originally amalgamated. It is a ...

'' in 1871. The area was organized into towns and villages within Hekikai District by the Meiji period establishment of the modern municipalities system in 1889.

Contemporary history

;Showa period The towns of Ohama, Shinkawa and Tanao, and the village of Asahi merged on April 5, 1948, to form the city of Hekinan As it is located on the southern (南) part of Hekikai District (碧海郡), the city was named . Hekinan was the tenth city founded in Aichi Prefecture. Since it had harbors and rails, the city developed quickly after

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

. On April 1, 1955, one part of the village of Meiji, which is currently called Nishibata, was incorporated into Hekinan. On September 26, 1959,

Typhoon Vera Typhoon Vera, also known as the , was an exceptionally intense tropical cyclone that struck Japan in September 1959, becoming the strongest and deadliest typhoon on record to make landfall (meteorology), landfall on the country, as well as ...

also known as the "Isewan Typhoon" heavily damaged the city. On July 14, 1974, Rinkai Kōen Pool or also known as Kinuura Mammoth Pool was opened. Because the city reclaimed the seaside for industrial purposes in 1960's, Hekinan opened this pool for people who complained about losing their beautiful beach. On May 23, 1988, Hekinan Municipal Hospital was opened. ;Heisei period In 1993, Hekinan Thermal Power Station was created by

Chubu Electric Power , abbreviated as Chuden in Japanese, is a Japanese electric utilities provider for the middle Chūbu region of the Honshu island of Japan. It provides electricity at 60 Hz, though an area of Nagano Prefecture uses 50 Hz. Chubu Electric ...

on the reclaimed ground. This provides high tax revenue to the city. On August 17, 2003, since the facility of the Rinkai Kōen Pool became old and the number of the visitors of the pool was reduced, the city shut down the pool. Instead, the city created Hekinan Rinkai Park on the same place.

Government

Hekinan has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

city legislature of 22 members, which is considerably higher than other cities of similar size. The city contributes one member to the Aichi Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Aichi District 13 of the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

Economy

Hekinan is one of the wealthiest cities in Japan. Its financial capability index is 1.70. Automobile-related components, metal, tile, and food processing are the main industries in the city. In 2006 the number of factories was 463 with 16,778 workers. The value of shipments was 84,356,533 million yen in total in 2006. The Hekinan Thermal Power Station is one of largest

thermal power plant A thermal power station, also known as a thermal power plant, is a type of power station in which the heat energy generated from various fuel sources (e.g., coal, natural gas, nuclear fuel, etc.) is converted to electrical energy. The heat ...

s in the world.

Primary sector of the economy

Agriculture

Even though only 4% of the population of Hekinan engage in agriculture, one-quarter of the area is farmland. The main products are carrots, onions, potatoes and figs. Anjo and Hekinan are the largest producer of figs in Japan.

Secondary sector of the economy

Manufacturing

*Automobile In 2010, there were 9,148 people working in this industry, shipping products worth 47,058,959 yen which is more than half of the amount of shipments in the city.

Toyota Industries is a Japanese machine maker. Originally, and still actively (), a manufacturer of automatic looms, it is the company from which Toyota Motor Corporation developed. It is the world's largest manufacturer of forklift trucks measured by revenues. ...

is the biggest company for the industry in the city. There were 1,722 Toyota employees in Hekinan, or about 10% of the total industrial workers in the city in 2010. *Ceramic tile One remarkable industry in the city is related to ceramic roofing tiles. Hekinan is one of the cities that produce '' Sanshu kawara'', a well-known regional brand. In Japan, 58 per cent of tiles, which is about 50,000,000 tiles, are ''Sanshu kawara''.

Education

Hekinan has seven public elementary schools and five public junior high schools operated by the city government, and two public high schools operated by the Aichi Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.

High schools

* Hekinan High School * Hekinan Technical High School

Middle schools

* Hekinan Chūō Middle School * Hekinan Higashi Middle School * Hekinan Minami Middle School * Hekinan Nishibata Middle School * Hekinan Shinkawa Middle School

Elementary schools

* Hekinan Chūō Elementary School * Hekinan Nishibata Elementary School * Hekinan Nisshin Elementary School * Hekinan Ōhama Elementary School * Hekinan Shinkawa Elementary School * Hekinan Tanao Elementary School * Hekinan Washizuka Elementary School

International schools

Escola Alegria de Saber is a network of Brazilian schools in Japan, Brazilian international schools in Japan. It has campuses in Aichi Prefecture, Aichi, Gunma Prefecture, Gunma, Mie Prefecture, Mie, and Shizuoka Prefecture, Shizuoka prefectures. The campuses, which have ...

( エスコーラ・アレグリア・デ・サベール) – Brazilian school (Ensinos Fundamental e Médio)

Transportation

Railway

;

Meitetsu , publicly trading as , is a private railway company operating around Aichi Prefecture and Gifu Prefecture of Japan. Some of the more famous trains operated by Meitetsu include the '' Panorama Car'' and the '' Panorama Car Super'', both of w ...

Meitetsu Mikawa Line The is a railway line in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Nagoya Railroad (Meitetsu) connecting Sanage Station in Toyota, Aichi, Toyota and Hekinan Station in Hekinan, Aichi, Hekinan. It originally extended bey ...

: (Takahama)- – – – (Terminus) ; KRR logomark

Kinuura Rinkai Railway * Hekinan Line: (Takahama)- – (Terminus)

Roads

Japan National Route

Prefectural road

*Aichi Prefectural road 43 *Aichi Prefectural road 45 *Aichi Prefectural road 46 *Aichi Prefectural road 50 *Aichi Prefectural road 265 *Aichi Prefectural road 291 *Aichi Prefectural road 295 *Aichi Prefectural road 301 *Aichi Prefectural road 302 *Aichi Prefectural road 303 *Aichi Prefectural road 304 *Aichi Prefectural road 305 *Aichi Prefectural road 306 *Aichi Prefectural road 307

Seaways

Seaport

*Kinuura Bay Port **Ohama Port **Shinkawa Port File:Ohama-Minato-Hekinan-003.jpg, Ohama Port File:Shinkawa-Minato-Hekinan-002.jpg, Shinkawa Port

Sister cities

Hekinan is twinned with: * Edmonds,

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, United States, since April 5, 1988 :To build Hekinan citizen's international sensibility, the city was looking for a sister city relationship with a city on the Pacific coast. At the same time, Edmonds was considering a relationship with a Japanese cities. Edmonds sent officials to Hekinan in 1986. The two cities started exchanging people for home stay. Two years later, at the ceremony of 40th anniversary of Hekinan, the two cities established a sister city relationship. :* In 1998, the Hekinan city hall hosted the sculpture by Steve Jensen to celebrate 10th anniversary of the relationships. :* In 2004, Twenty five Hekinan artists, residents, and officials visited Edmonds to dedicate the Friendship Tree on the Edmonds waterfront. :* In 2008, Mayor Gary Haakenson visited Hekinan with 18 citizens to celebrate 20th anniversary *

Pula Pula, also known as Pola, is the largest city in Istria County, west Croatia, and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the Istria, Istrian peninsula in western Croatia, wi ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, since April 5, 2005. :In April 2005, the Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia visited to Hekinan to participate in

Expo 2005 Expo 2005 was a world expo held for 185 days between Friday, March 25 and Sunday, September 25, 2005, in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, east of the city of Nagoya. Japan has also hosted Expo '70 Osaka (World Expo), Expo '75 Okinawa (Specialised Expo) ...

. During the stay, the Vice Prime Minister proposed to have a sister cities relationships between Croatian cities. Hekinan sent officials to Pula in 2006. On April 5, 2007, Hekinan invited the Mayor of Pula for the 59th anniversary and established a sister city relationship between the two cities. * Yuni,

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

, since April 5, 1988 :About 20 people from Hekikaigun moved to Yuni, Mikawa. Since the sounds of the regions were the same, they developed this region very well. This connection made two cities have the sister city relationship at the same date that Edmonds signed the relationship between Hekinan. *

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

, since April 5, 1992

Local attractions

*Aoi park *Akashi Park * Hekinan Rinkai park **Hekinan Rinkai Gym **Hekinan Rinkai park ground ** Hekinan Sea Side Aquarium ( 碧南海浜水族館) *Hekinan Tatsukichi Fujii Museum of Contemporary Art *Mugaen – Philosophy Taiken Village *Myōfuku-ji ( 妙福寺/志貴毘沙門天) *Shōmyō-ji – A temple related to

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

. Hekinanpark.JPG, Hekinan Rinkai park Aoipark1.JPG, Aoi park Hekinan City Akashi Park.jpg, Akashi Park Hekinan City Tatsukichi Fujii Museum of Contemporary Art ac.jpg, Hekinan Tatsukichi Fujii Museum of Contemporary Art Shomyoji1.JPG, Shōmyō-ji Aburagabuchi park.jpg, Aburagabuchi park

Culture

Festivals

Various festivals are held throughout the year in Hekinan.

Notable people from Hekinan

Hideaki Ōmura is a Japanese politician and the current governor of Aichi Prefecture and a former member of the House of Representatives. Early life and education He was born on 9 March 1960 in Hekinan, Aichi Prefecture to a father who works as a carpenter a ...

, politician *

Kenzo Suzuki is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), in Mexico with Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) and in the United States with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE ...

, professional wrestler

Notes

References

External links

*
Hekinan City official website

Hekinan city Tatsukichi Fujii Museum of Contemporary Art

{{Authority control Cities in Aichi Prefecture Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan Hekinan, Aichi